When a crisis hits, it can tear open our world in an instant, like a flood, fire, or terrorist attack, or it can transform the way we live over a period of weeks or months, like this current pandemic. Regardless of whether we’re facing the aftermath of an earthquake or we’re isolating ourselves in a quarantine, many things we take for granted disappear.
But it won’t always be that way. When wireless power at a distance is ubiquitous, the inconvenience, discomfort, and even dangers of losing or using conventional power during a crisis will become much lessened.
Here are a few wireless power predictions that will keep us safer in the future:
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Pop-Up Hospitals, Testing Centers, and Shelters: When low power devices are powered wirelessly and do not require an extensively wired structure, it’ll be much easier and faster to build temporary medical facilities as well as shelters for people who have lost their homes.
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Remote Medical Monitoring: With wireless power, the remote medical monitoring of things like heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen intake, will provide a level of convenience, due to wireless power functioning safely even while on the move. Wirelessly powered medical monitors will also help protect patients more consistently when medical staff is low, and protect medical staff when more frequent visits can mean higher risk of medical staff infection.
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Remote Facility Monitoring: We can’t be everywhere at once, especially during a pandemic. Wirelessly powered sensors in buildings we cannot visit physically will help keep us apprised of people coming and going, moisture in the air, leaks, smoke, temperature, sound, and other important elements that advance notice will help us protect property and communities.
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Supply Chain Optimization: Wireless power will enable a depth of sensors for inventory control that we have not yet experienced. Coupled with predictive analysis and AI, we can more accurately and automatically order commodities and supplies before they are even processed at checkout.
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Warehouse Automation: Wireless power will enable more robotic enhancement of warehouse fulfillment and enable workers to manage more functions from the safety of home or an isolated location.
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Data Collection and Communication: The one thing that can help ease the strain of a sudden or unexpected crisis is data. With more sensors, connectivity of things, and remote and secure access to data, the scale of which are enabled by wireless power, we will have more sources of data when we need it most.
With wireless power, over air and at a distance, most people first consider the convenience of not needing to plug in or use a charging pad to receive power to personal devices. That’s most definitely a primary consumer convenience, but also, wireless power will enable our society to continue to function effectively, even when there’s an unexpected or tragic interruption.
We simply need to plan for it.
